ARTICLES ABOUT ROAD FUNDS BY DATE - PAGE 2

A call for increased funding to expand state roads throughout Kane County topped the local legislative agenda that county officials presented Monday to a delegation of state lawmakers meeting in Geneva. Other pending legislation affecting the county, dealing with wetlands protection, employee pensions, increased court fees and higher pay for jurors, may be significant, but they are secondary to the need for more state road funding in Kane, local members of the Illinois General Assembly were told.

How many people would be willing to pay a little more for everything from a package of gum to a new kitchen appliance--as long as the extra money goes to roads? In Lake County, officials believe a widespread sense of frustration with congested traffic will mean support for an extra sales tax for road improvements. The Illinois Senate voted this month in favor of a bill that would allow counties to hold referendums to increase the sales tax by an additional 0.25 percent to fund local road projects.

The DuPage County Board voted on Tuesday to contribute more money to a proposed state project to widen a stretch of North Avenue that officials said has been the site of frequent accidents. If the state-run project proceeds beyond the engineering stage, the expansion of the 2.8-mile segment between Illinois Highway 59 in West Chicago and Kautz Road on the DuPage-Kane County border would be the latest along the densely developed east-west corridor. Last summer, the Illinois Department of Transportation finished widening North Avenue east of Illinois 59 to Gary Avenue in Carol Stream, said Steve Kulm, a department spokesman.

Illinois road and bridge improvements planned for next year may be endangered by a major reduction in federal highway funding proposed Monday by the Bush administration. The Federal Highway Administration estimates Illinois would lose $236 million in federal assistance in 2003, which amounts to about 10 percent of the entire state highway construction budget for the current year. Dick Adorjan, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said state authorities had not yet identified which highway projects might be halted or delayed to accommodate the reduction in federal assistance.

The Transportation and Road Improvement Committee Monday decided to request another $250,000 federal grant to help fund the widening of Barrington and Higgins Roads. The construction would widen Barrington from Interstate Highway 90 to Higgins, as well as provide an additional through lane in each direction of Higgins at Barrington. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the project is estimated to cost $9.5 million. About $5.75 million in state funds will cover most of the construction and land acquisition costs.

Raising the ante in the battle over O'Hare International Airport's future, state Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown on Wednesday declared a moratorium on $1.7 billion in planned road improvements leading into the airport until the debate over building new runways or a new airport near Peotone is resolved. "Until the city has a plan for how they're going to resolve those [O'Hare flight] delay problems, I'm not going to recommend to the governor that we start allocating huge amounts of money to try to take care of ground access when we don't even have a clue how we're going to solve our air capacity problems," Brown told a state House committee.

Lake County transportation officials on Wednesday unveiled details of the county's $39 million construction program for 2001, which includes 29 projects involving 17 miles of county roads and highways. As the projects were being outlined, county officials acknowledged they would fall short of meeting the needs of far north suburban residents. "While this construction program will be beneficial to the county highway system, because of the growth of the county it will not be enough to meet the present needs of Lake County with respect to the highway congestion issue," County Board member Diana O'Kelly (R-Mundelein)

In an unusual display of gratitude and political ingratiation, Naperville on Thursday publicly thanked Gov. George Ryan and DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom for their role in securing nearly $60 million to improve the choked intersection of Naperville and Warrenville Roads at the East-West Tollway. About 300 city leaders and residents welcomed the two politicians for a private dinner and a special meeting of the City Council. "Tonight is just us saying thank you," said Naperville Mayor George Pradel.

Naperville officials are calling a thank-you event they have planned Thursday evening for Gov. George Ryan and DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom unprecedented. The goal is to thank the two leaders publicly for their cooperation in committing nearly $60 million in county and state funds to rebuild a major intersection at Naperville and Warrenville Roads and a nearby East-West Tollway interchange. The city is planning a private dinner for 100 civic and business leaders at the Washington Square Restaurant, followed by a stroll along the Riverwalk, a carillon performance and a public event at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Center.

Residents of three condominium and townhouse complexes in southwest suburban Palos Park are demanding tax rebates and a share of the village's state gasoline tax revenue as compensation for having to pay for the repair and cleanup of roads outside their residences. "Our households provide votes and census tract benefits for the village, but they turn their backs on us when it is time to give something back to us," said Ray Snyder, a resident of the Brookside Condominium Association, this week.